Website Redesign: 5 Ways to Tell if Your Website Needs a Facelift

Have you been thinking about redesigning your website lately but unsure if the one you have is up to par? If your business’s website is looking a little old and tired these days, it may be time to consider getting it some rejuvenation in the form of a facelift. Websites, like people, show signs of aging after a while. The average lifespan of a website design is just 3-5 years before it starts to feel out dated. With ever changing technology, trends, and consumer preferences constantly evolving, what once looked fresh and appealing can start to seem obsolete and disconnected after a few years.

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, your website is often the first interaction that potential customers will have with your business. You want to make sure the impression it gives reflects the energy, quality and professionalism you want associated with your brand. An outdated site can convey that your company lacks innovation or doesn’t understand current market needs. (and you don’t want that!)

So how do you know if your website is due for a nip and tuck versus just some minor Botox?

Here are 5 tell-tale signs that may indicate a full website redesign facelift needs to be scheduled STAT.

How to Know When it’s Time for Website Redesign

#1. Outdated and poor Design

One of the most obvious red flags that your website is outdated is an archaic visual design. If your website looks like it’s stuck in the early 2000’s with clashing colors, excessive animations, or poor use of typography, it’s time for a revamp. Text heavy pages with no breathing room and hard-to-read fonts reveal some outdated design influences. Modern web design focuses much more intently on clean, sleek aesthetics and user-friendly experiences rather than overly clever or complex elements. Mobile responsiveness and adaptation to different devices is also key now.

#2. Your viewers have a difficult time navigating your website.

Your website needs to be redesigned if you are seeing these kind of navigation issues:

• A cluttered layout
• Too many menu options
• A website structure that reflects your institutional structure instead of how actual users are reading and engaging with your content
• Poorly labeled links, call to action buttons or overly technical terminology and acronyms

To provide a top notch user experience, optimizing your website’s structure, content, and performance can enhance the user experience. SEO practices such as improving page load speed, ensuring mobile responsiveness, and organizing content make it easier for users to navigate and find what they’re really looking for. When users have a positive experience on your website, they are more likely to stay longer, engage with your content, and convert into paying customers or loyal subscribers.

#3. A Non-Responsive or Mobile-Unfriendly Website.

With the increasing use of mobile devices, having a website that is not responsive or mobile-friendly is a clear indicator of being outdated and so 2000’s. According to recent surveys, over 60% of web traffic now originates from smartphones and tablets. If your website doesn’t adapt to different screen sizes or has a clunky mobile version, you risk alienating a significant portion of your audience who primarily access the web through their phones or tablets. To retain relevance, elevate your website’s SEO rankings and providing a positive experience for smartphone users, ensuring a fast-loading, seamless mobile interface is essential in 2024.

#4. Slow Loading Speed.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, users expect websites to load quickly. If your website takes forever to load, it’s a major turnoff for visitors, leading to high bounce rates and lost conversions. The longer it takes for a website page to load, the more likely people are to leave. In fact, the first 5 seconds of page load time has the highest impact on conversion rates. Slow loading speed can be caused by various factors, such as large unoptimized images, excessive scripts, or outdated coding practices.

Here are 3 things you can do to optimize for speed and loading time:

• Optimize all your images so they don’t slow down the load time.
• Reduce the number of HTTP requests that are being made, so the pages can load faster.
• Cache your static website content so it doesn’t have to be loaded every time someone visits the page.

#5. Unclear or Lack of Call To Actions.

If you don’t ask for the sale, you may lose an opportunity to get one. A call to action or CTA serves as a guide for users, letting them know what action to take next. Whether it’s making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, filling out a form, or contacting you, a well-defined CTA prompts users to take the desired action. Without a clear CTA, visitors may feel lost or unsure about what to do, resulting in missed opportunities and lower conversion rates.

Remember, an effective CTA should be visually prominent, concise, action-oriented, and aligned with the overall goals of your website. It should clearly communicate the value proposition and motivate users to take the desired action. By implementing clear and compelling CTAs, you can guide visitors towards conversion and improve the overall performance of your website.

So, there you have it! Is it time to update your website with a facelift? Are you ready to invest in your business and in your brand and give some serious love to your website?